181 



Miscellaneous. 



AGRICULTURAL BANKS FOR CEYLON. 

 By E. S. W. Senathi-Ra.ja. 

 It is a common complaint against young Ceylonese of the present day, 

 that while most of our educated youth are anxious to get admission into the ranks of 

 the learned professions which are already overcrowded, or to secure Government 

 appointments which are, of necessity, very limited in number, few, if any, turn 

 their attention to agriculture. The complaint is not groundless, for the fact is 

 quite patent to all who have studied the progress of the native communities of 

 Ceylon. But a mere superficial observer is apt to run away with the idea that it is 

 simply due to native indolence or disinclination to engage in any employment 

 involving physical labour, or to some supposed lack of dignity in the occupation 

 itself. But such a conclusion, however, is erroneous. Agriculture has been the 

 chief business of our people from time immemorial, and there is, so far as I am 

 aware, no prejudice against the cultivation of the soil. But the causes which have 

 led the educated youth of Ceylon to hanker after Government service or rush to 

 the learned professions are not far to seek. From the day of the British occupation 

 of Ceylon until about 20 years ago, the learned professions were to the average young 

 men of the country, considering the paucity of the means at their command, far 

 more lucrative than the cultivation of the ground. The form of agriculture which 

 their means permitted, and which the tradition of centuries had familiarised them 

 with, was chiefly the cultivation of rice, and that, as practised in Ceylon was seldom 

 remunerative. The learned professions gave until recently a much larger income 

 than the cultivation of rice, and even minor appointments under Government were 

 far more profitable. It is no wonder then that our youth sought the more lucrative 

 employments in preference to the old form of agriculture. But the pressure of 

 competition, however, is making itself felt now more than ever, and there are 

 scores of young men at the present day who will devote their energies willingly to 

 the cultivation of the soil with the new products which are said to be remunerative, 

 if there are reasonable prospects of earning a competence by that means. Even 

 the villager seems to be stirred up by the enthusiasm shown by His Excellency the 

 Governor and the Agricultural Society, to turn his attention from the time- 

 honoured rice and chena cultivation, to the more tempting enterprise of planting 

 new products. But there is one serious obstacle in their way, and that is the want 

 of capital. Thanks to the present policy of the Government aided by the extension 

 of railways through the waste and uncultivated tracts of the Northern, North- 

 Central and North- Western Provinces, land fit for the cultivation of such 

 products as rubber, cotton, ground-nut, tobacco, etc., may be said to be within the 

 reach of every young man of energy, pluck and perseverance. But the cultivation 

 of the earth, especially when it happens to be covered with primeval forest or 

 jungle, requires a considerable outlay of capital, in the first place, to prepare the 

 ground for cultivation, and secondly, to support the labourers engaged in the 

 cultivation till the soil yields its return. In some cases, one has to wait for an 

 income for several years, which are not merely a period of waiting but also of 

 spending money. Where is the capital to be found ? 



The problem of native agriculture in Ceylon where new products are 

 concerned, and indeed even for the better cidtivation of old products, may be said 

 to be substantially a problem of finding the capital to work with. Of the three 

 economic elements of wealth, Land is at hand, and Labour is available, but the 

 third element, Capital, is wanting. Until that problem is solved, it need hardly 

 be said, the agricultural progress of Ceylon must be slow and unsatisfactory, 

 and cannot be considered to be on a sound basis. Some men who have been lucky 

 enough to make a fortune by arrack renting or plumbago mining or gem digging, 

 may now and then indulge in the luxury of cultivating new products, but the 



